<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>try a little tenderness by blackkat</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056026">try a little tenderness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat'>blackkat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jaster/Nico Drabbles [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Relationship, Flirting, Friendship, M/M, Rescue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:33:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Get them out of here,” Jaster orders, helping the last little girl up the ramp into her mother’s arms. He turns, clapping Jango on the shoulder, and starts down the ramp, already calling up the controls for his jetpack. </p>
<p>“And where are <i>you</i> going?” Jango calls after him, in a tone that would be annoyed if Jaster couldn’t hear the alarm in it. “There’s a Jedi back there!”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaster Mereel/Nico Diath</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jaster/Nico Drabbles [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>437</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>try a little tenderness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the prompt: Jaster/Nico, while chasing down Death Watch connections to slavers Jaster helps along a slave revolt led by a jedi.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Get them out of here,” Jaster orders, helping the last little girl up the ramp into her mother’s arms. He turns, clapping Jango on the shoulder, and starts down the ramp, already calling up the controls for his jetpack.</p>
<p>“And where are <em>you</em> going?” Jango calls after him, in a tone that would be annoyed if Jaster couldn’t hear the alarm in it. “There’s a Jedi back there!”</p>
<p>“I know,” Jaster says, and a part of him can't believe he’s making this decision, but—the Jedi gave him information on a traitor in his own ranks, <em>and</em> the information on the Death Watch he came here seeking. Jaster might be a mercenary, but he’s an honorable one, and a Mandalorian pays his debts. “Get them back to the cruiser, I won't be long.”</p>
<p>“You’d better not be,” Jango says, “or I'm sending Arla after you.”</p>
<p>Jaster winces faintly, because that’s certainly a threat, but he waves a hand, then fires his jetpack and heads straight for the former slave town, which should now likely just be considered a town, given how the compound around it is in ruins. A loop overhead shows a handful of men and women starting to put out fires in their section, a few more small groups rounding up the last of the forces that haven’t fled. Jaster can't see any pockets of fighting remaining, which is impressive for a ragged, ragtag band of former slaves facing a mercenary army far more heavily equipped. He hadn’t expected them to pull it off, and yet the compound is practically gone, the mine stands empty, and there's no sign of the army except a few thoroughly-beaten fighters.</p>
<p>Of course, this rebellion had a little more help than most, Jaster thinks, catching a glimpse of burning blue plasma through the rocks. He heads that way, cutting the jetpack at the last moment, and drops, landing heavily on a spur of rock that juts out from the tangle of fallen stones scattered over the landscape.</p>
<p>The Jedi balanced on the edge of the cliff doesn’t so much as twitch in his direction, all of his attention trained on the Zygerrian looming in front of him, slugthrower trained on his chest. His lightsaber is out, ignited, even though he has to know it won't do anything against a metal projectile, and his expression is just as steady and focused as it was when Jaster first met him in the town.</p>
<p>“You certainly seem focused on making this harder for yourself,” Nico says, unmoved as the Zygerrian takes a step closer. “If you surrender to Republic authorities, I can assure you they’ll treat you better than I would.”</p>
<p>The Zygerrian huffs, advancing another pace. Jaster eyes him, eyes the distance to Nico, and silently draws his blaster, aiming carefully. “Surrender? When I’ve got you trapped?” he mocks. “I don’t think so, Jedi. All I have to do is round up my men—”</p>
<p>Nico lunges, all that impossible Jedi speed put into one motion that practically blurs before Jaster's eyes. The Zygerrian is fast too, though; slugthrower comes up—</p>
<p>One shot takes it right out of the man’s hand, and he shouts, recoils, grabs for his blaster with his good hand. It’s not nearly quick enough this time. A blue blade sinks through his chest, withdraws, and he drops, lifeless.</p>
<p>“A good shot,” Nico says precisely, straightening up. He deactivates his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt, and shakes his sleeves back, grimacing a little. His tunics are scorched, and if Jaster's not mistaken, his hair is a rough inch shorter than it was last time they met.</p>
<p>“You seem like the type who’s idiotic enough to try and use a lightsaber against a slugthrower,” Jaster says, and leaps down from the rock, straightening and looking Nico over closely. He seems like he’s in one piece, so Jaster holsters his blaster and adds, “Those who didn’t want to fight are on their way to my cruiser.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Mand’alor.” Nico considers him for a moment, and then says, “I'm surprised you didn’t go with them. Everything was well in hand here.”</p>
<p>Jaster snorts, but takes a step closer. “One Jedi against an army,” he says. “Those aren’t generally the odds people bet on.”</p>
<p>Nico raises a brow at him, like he didn’t just storm a whole Zygerrian mining operation singlehandedly. “It was hardly only me,” he says. “The people here deserve most of the credit. I assisted. And you did as well.”</p>
<p>“We had a bargain,” Jaster reminds him, and gets a quick smirk, a little crooked but mostly amused. It makes him huff, but he reaches up, pulling his helmet off, and raises a brow right back. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think that was the only thing we had, Master Jedi.”</p>
<p>Nico laughs a little, giving his burned sleeve a rueful look before he steps forward. He’s limping faintly, and it’s the natural thing to offer him a hand. He even takes it, which Jaster is mildly surprised by.</p>
<p>Then again, everything about this Jedi has been surprising so far.</p>
<p>“There may indeed have been something else,” Nico allows, and from this close it’s easy to see he’s not nearly as put-together as he appears from a distance. His long hair has leaves in it, and there's a smudge of ash on his jaw, a slice through his tunic that shows the pale shirt beneath. It’s…entertaining, Jaster thinks. That’s not a word he thought he would ever use for a Jedi, but it fits a little too well. “But I thought you were against discussing that.”</p>
<p>“I,” Jaster says with dignity, “was trying to avoid making it look as if I were seducing you for information.”</p>
<p>“You assume I wouldn’t have given in immediately,” Nico says, and Jaster jerks his head around to look at him in complete surprise and promptly trips over a rock.</p>
<p>Nico laughs at him, but at least he helps him up against afterwards. Jaster will take it.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>